With 11 days to go, organisers have said the 33rd National Games will be the biggest-ever to be held in the country. They have also dismissed reports that very few teams have confirmed participation, saying 33 states have already sent their consent. “This is going to be the biggest-ever National Games both in terms of number of participants as well as the number of events. The Guwahati National Games will have 32 events, five more than the last Games,” Assam Forest Minister Pradyut Bordoloi, who also heads the National Games Media Committee, said here today. He said 30 states had already confirmed participation, which meant over 7,000 participants were sure to take part in the Games. Only three states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Bihar — were yet to confirm their participation. Players will be absolutely safe. There will be no compromise on security. We have made elaborate security arrangements to cope up with any situation,” Bordoloi said. When asked whether Guwahati was being turned into a fortress with 32 companies of para-military forces and 4,000 state police personnel apart from the army on standby, Bordoloi said security personnel were being sensitised to make everybody feel comfortable. He dismissed reports that non-arri val of equipments would affect the Games, and said equipments for as many as 25 events were already in place, while those for the remaining eight were also on the way. Sonia to open: Bordoloi said UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had been invited to be the chief guest in the opening ceremony of the 33rd National Games. “We have already got her preliminary confirmation,” he said.
